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Twitter Fingers on Fleek: How Black Twitter Changed the World
“When you can change the way companies market and brand their products because you are in this collective, that’s power. When you can swing votes. That’s power. There’s so many things that black people—Black Twitter—has been able to do as a collective that reflect the power that we have just as a people.” —Feminista Jones…
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Hot Off the Press: Melanated News Strikes Again
Melanated News! Get your Melanated News here! What is Melanated News, you say? As black folks, Melanated News is a fictitious news show full of humor and some stories that we wish were true. Courtesy of your homies on The Root’s video team, Melanated News is back. The Root 100 Gala has come and gone,…
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Saying Farewell to an Icon: Cicely Tyson, Lenny Kravitz, Angela Bassett and More Honor the Life of Diahann Carroll
How does one say farewell to an icon? On Sunday, the best in black excellence gathered to bid Diahann Carroll adieu. It was a cold and dreary day in New York City, but there was a buzz in the Helen Hayes Theater on Broadway. There were plenty of hugs and handshakes in the crowd—even a…
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Africa's the Future: Why Akon Says That African-Americans Should Invest in the Continent
“When you combine African-Americans and diaspora Africans, that unity itself is what’s gonna make Wakanda actually possible.” —Akon text After his his single “Locked Up,” Akon was determined not to be your run-of-the-mill one-hit wonder. The artist and producer had some foresight, understanding that the shelf life of an artist in a super-fickled entertainment industry…
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She's a 'Lady': Lady and the Tramp's Tessa Thompson Reflects on How Her Dog, Coltrane, Changed Her Life
Beloved Disney film Lady and the Tramp is back! This time, actor Tessa Thompson is the voice of “Lady”—and she has come down with a case of puppy love. While fostering a dog she renamed Coltrane (named in honor of renowned jazz musicians Alice and John Coltrane), Thompson fell instantly in love. Soon after, she decided…
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I Had a Table Talk With Jada Pinkett Smith (No, It Wasn’t a Red Table), but I Got a Healing
Earlier this week, I limped into a swanky Midtown hotel. Less than 24 hours before, I’d finished the most grueling physical challenge of my life (thus far). In order to get to said hotel, I slowly walked up and down the stairs of the New York City subway. I was having a tough time going…
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Bish, I Be Running: I Am Stronger Than 26.2 Miles
TCS New York City Marathon—done and done. Part of me can’t believe that the marathon is over. Hell, part of me can’t believe that I can still walk (on flat surfaces, that is—the stairs are a no-go). True story: In a past marathon, I had to be pushed through the airport in a wheelchair (on…
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Bish, I Be Running, Week 10: Almost There and an Ode to the Queensboro Bridge
In less than 48 hours, I’ll be running the New York City Marathon. And I’m not sure how to process things. Over the past few months, I’ve sacrificed my social life, gotten slightly injured (and came back with vengeance), fundraised like my life depended on it, bought some granny sneakers (yes, I went with the…
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Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Edward Norton Chat Motherless Brooklyn and Systemic Racism
“Things that we are still grappling with in New York are not things that are happened by osmosis. They actually happened because there was a single individual with a very autocratic and racist approach to the modernization of infrastructure in New York,” —Edward Norton. text Motherless Brooklyn, directed by Edward Norton, is a film based…
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Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr. and Harriet Cast Talk Their Visions of Freedom
Let there be no ambiguity: Harriet is a film about freedom. Despite the many critiques of the film, I think it’s fair to say that you might leave the Kasi Lemmons-directed movie feeling “good.” I did. Perhaps it’s because the film intentionally steers away from the slave narrative, despite centering a woman who was once…
